#I now wonder what my parents expected after seeing my thesis exhibition

[flightybuttlass]

my mom, for the last 10 years, has been obsessed with the folk pop band formed by the sons of our local pediatricians, but gaur-an-teed they earn similar money to me and she doesn't realize that they're probably costing off their parents's wealth in the way she accused me of doing

[more-pokeimagines]

Stone Cold Body [06] - Chapter 5

A/N: Once again, I’m so sorry for the long wait. I was really busy with my final thesis and requests for my two writing blogs but I hope you guys are still interested in the series. Feedback is always appreciated!

Warnings: none

Taglist: @piershoesz

Present

Having a prince by your side still felt weird, even after spending a few days with him. Bede was reticent and farouche, only speaking when someone directly addressed a question to him and often looking at you like you were both his worst enemy and the biggest idiot he had ever encountered. His mere presence was enough to make you absolutely furious but the more reasonable part of you knew that you couldn’t just leave him in the lurch, simply because he had no idea about living in the 21st century. As hard as it was, you had to admit that he needed your help.

You had spent the last few days in a small inn in the middle of Wyndon’s old town where Hop had to share a room with the prince because the other rooms had been fully booked, and of course they didn’t get along well. Hop had lost his patience with Bede after a few hours of nerve-wracking silence, and Bede had told him in return that he wouldn’t mind Hop leaving and that he didn’t need a babysitter anyway.

Needless to say that the mood had been up the spout when you met each other the next day to grab some breakfast. Hop shot angry glances at Bede at least three or four times a minute while Gloria tried her best to save the situation by discussing various plans for the day. You, on the other hand, just wanted to stay out of this and focused on your breakfast instead: a stack of waffles with honey, a fruit salad and a large cup of coffee because you were absolutely sure that you wouldn’t survive another day in Bede’s presence without a considerable amount of caffeine in your system.

“I thought about visiting the castle today,” Gloria said and looked around one. Bede showed no sign of interest in her words while Hop and you nodded in agreement. Visiting the castle had been on your list anyway, and you weren’t going to scrap everything just for the sake of peace and quiet. If Bede didn’t want to accompany you he could stay in the inn instead.

“The temporary exhibition about the royal family ends in a few days,” Gloria continued in a conversational tone, completely ignoring the fact that Bede’s face dropped when she mentioned his family. “And I don’t know about you but I definitely want to see it.”

“Sure,” Hop agreed. Next to him, Bede huffed. “I’m not coming with you.”

“Oh, don’t worry, you don’t have to,” Gloria replied and smiled at him. “It probably sounds really boring to you, doesn’t it? I mean… it’s an exhibition about your family after all.”

You took a sip from your coffee. Somehow, Gloria seemed to be the only one who wasn’t bothered by Bede’s behavior. She even managed to smile at him from time to time, and it also didn’t faze her that he treated you like you were some obnoxious bugs that bustled about his head. Instead of arguing with him, like you and Hop did most of the time, she really tried her best to start a normal and peaceful conversation, and while you usually admired her for her talent to adapt to every situation, you wished that she would stop with trying to befriend Bede. He didn’t belong here; he wasn’t a part of your friend group and you really didn’t want him to be here. His presence made things so much more complicated than they needed to be, especially since neither of you could stand him or his behavior. Well, except Gloria but you were absolutely sure that she was just pretending because she didn’t want to make the whole situation even more tense. At least that’s what you tried to tell yourself since you didn’t want to believe that she really had some sympathy for the arrogant and disdainful prince.

When a quiet voice in the back of your head reminded you that he was probably acting like that to cover up his fears about being trapped in another time and having no idea if he would ever be able to go back to his time period, you shook your head to silence the thoughts. That you started to feel sorry for him was definitely the last thing you needed right now. But still… you didn’t even want to imagine how strange the whole situation had to be for him. He had been trapped in stone for so long, and now that he was finally free, he had to discover that the world around him hadn’t stopped turning while he had been accursed.

You watched him from the corner of your eye while you cut your waffles up before dipping a smaller piece into the puddle of honey on your plate. His looks didn’t match his personality. In all objectivity, you had to admit that he was quite handsome, with his slightly curly, light blonde hair and the unusual purple color of his eyes. But the way he acted made it almost impossible to like him; he was presumptuous and unfriendly, despite the fact that the three of you only tried to help him.

“(Y/N)?” Hop’s voice snapped you out of your thoughts, and you turned your head to look at him. “Sorry. What did you say?”

“I asked if you’re ready to go,” he repeated, pointing at your only half-empty plate. “You haven’t finished your breakfast yet.”

You shook your head. “Yeah, no, don’t worry about that. I’m not hungry.”

“Okay.” Gloria beamed at you. “Let’s go!”

*

The exhibition itself wasn’t as good as you had expected. Of course, it was interesting to read more about the Royal family of Galar but a part of you had hoped to find out more about Bede and the reasons why someone had cursed him.

Lost in your thoughts, you stared at his portrait, noticing that the painting didn’t do him justice. The color of his eyes seemed to be much duller than in real life, and some details like the faint smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth must have been added by the painter to make the prince look more approachable and friendly because you couldn’t imagine that Bede was able to smile at all. But you still had to admit his dark grey uniform made him look quite regal and sophisticated.

For the first time since you met him, you fully understood that he had been meant to rule Galar after his father’s death. From the information panels right next to his portrait you knew that his parents had been particularly strict about his education and rarely allowed him to do something for fun. According to the historians, he had spent most of his time with studying the politics and the history of Galar but had never been able to live up to his father’s expectations, no matter how hard he tried to impress him.

Once again, you felt a wave of sympathy for Bede. Surely, it had been hard for him to live with the impression that he wasn’t good enough to be king one day, and you wondered if this was the reason for his dismissive behavior. Maybe he just tried to protect himself by pushing everyone away who tried to get near him. On the other hand, that didn’t make much sense since neither of you had demanded high standards from him, unlike his parents who expected him to be perfect in any way possible.

A bit taken aback because this had been the second time today that you had felt sorry for the prince, you shook your head and brought your attention to the portrait right next to Bede’s. It showed his sister, Princess Carlina, and if you hadn’t known you wouldn’t have recognized them as siblings. Her hair was darker, her eyes more of a blueish-purple color, perfectly in tune with the color of her gown, and her lips curled into a genuine smile. In comparison to her brother, she looked friendlier and less tense but maybe you were just making that up because you knew how Bede acted most of the time.

She had been the one who had encouraged their parents to build the park surrounding the statue but that was basically everything you knew about the princess. Even though she eventually became Queen of Galar after her father’s death, she wasn’t as famous as her older brother, mostly because her husband tried everything to keep her out of political affairs and other government affairs. According to the information panels, she had died young, only a few years after her marriage, without having children.

For a moment, you wondered if she ever learned that her brother wasn’t dead; that someone had trapped him in stone instead. Would she be glad about the fact that you freed him? You definitely weren’t too happy about it but since there was nothing you could do to change it, you slowly started to accept it. In the end, it didn’t matter that much anyway – nobody could force you to like him just because you had managed to break the spell.

With a quiet sigh, you shook your head and turned away from the paintings. As artistically as they were, they didn’t help you with any of your questions. Even though the legend surrounding the prince was the most interesting thing about the Royal Family, there hadn’t been any information about it, probably because his parents tried everything to keep it a secret, and you couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed when you returned to Hop and Gloria who were waiting in the gift shop near the exit of the castle.

“Nothing,” you said when they looked at you in anticipation. “I double-checked every single information panel about our Prince Charming but they don’t mention the curse at all. I guess we have to do some research on our own.”

Hop huffed. “Does that mean we have to spend even more time with him?”

“Well, we can’t just leave him on his own, can we?” Gloria retorted and nudged him with her elbow. “He needs our help to get the hang of this time.”

Hop and you exchanged a glance, silently pitying each other because you had to spend even more time with Bede. But both of you knew that Gloria was right: it would be irresponsible to skip out on him, no matter how much you actually disliked him.

*

Everything was dark around you. Somehow, it felt like you were floating in the void, like there was nothing else around you but thick darkness.

Then, the darkness suddenly lifted, revealing a light so bright that you had to close your eyes for a second. Still, you weren’t sure if your feet were even touching the ground but when you opened your eyes, you found yourself in the corner of a ginormous ballroom. Every inch of the room seemed to be covered in gold, and there were people in beautiful gowns and custom-tailored uniforms and suits everywhere. On the gallery, you could see a string orchestra tuning their brightly polished instruments before they picked them up and started to play. The melody was melancholic and full of longing, making your heart ache for something you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

For a few moments, you found yourself staring at your magnificent surroundings, trying to take in as many impressions as possible. There was something magical about this place; it almost seemed like everything could happen here.

And then you saw him.

He was making his way through the crowd, dressed in a navy-blue uniform that made him look even paler than he already was. In the dim light, the color of his hair was almost silver-blond, and even though you didn’t want to stare at him like everyone else, you kept your eyes glued on him, watching him as he greeted the royal couple. Next to him, there was a girl – his sister, Princess Carlina, and you realized that she looked so much prettier in real life than she did on the painting you saw just a few hours ago. Her smile was contagious; even her strict father couldn’t help but return it when she beamed at him.

Then, the scenery suddenly changed. Heavy fog surrounded your feet, making it almost impossible to see the ground. Right in front of you, you spotted a near-derelict building with tall turrets and shattered windows. The stone walls that had started to crumble in some places were covered in dead ivy, and through the opened gate you could hear loud voices. One of them, you recognized immediately, the other one belonged to a woman.

Burning with curiosity, you slowly sneaked closer.

“They will regret what they have done to me and my family,” the woman said, her voice filled with a mixture of satisfaction and burning anger. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

“You must be insane when you think that I will be intimidated by your empty words,” Bede replied. He sounded just like he did when he talked to you, a bit presumptuous and cold, almost as if the woman didn’t deserve to be taken seriously. “You and your kind can only lie and betray and hope that nobody notices how reprobated and selfish you are.”

The woman laughed. “Your arrogance will do you no good, little Princeling. One day, you will get what you deserve.”

The scenery changed again. You were still standing outside of the building but farther away this time, and now you could see that it was some kind of abandoned church. The full moon, ominously hovering over the scenery, cast a pale light over everything and made the whole situation even more creepy. Just looking at the church made your flesh crawl. You had no idea why but somehow, you knew exactly that something terrible was going to happen.

Suddenly, the ground beneath your feet started to shake. A terrifying rumble reached your ears, the light of the moon got brighter for a few seconds. The church began to deflate; stone by stone the building collapsed like a house of cards, blowing up dust, and you covered your eyes. Another loud rumble and then – nothing.

*

With a scream escaping your lips, you started up from your sleep. It was only then when you realized that everything you saw had been nothing but a dream. An alarmingly real dream but still nothing more than a product of your imagination.

You rubbed your face, noticing that your palms were sweaty, as you tried to steady your breath and calm your racing heart. “Damn it,” you mumbled, still completely taken aback by your dream. Everything had seemed so real, almost as if you had caught a glimpse of the past, but the next second, you rolled your eyes and quietly scolded yourself for being such an idiot. You had visited the castle today, you had seen the portraits; of course everything had seemed real. And with all the things going on right now, the dream simply had been your subconsciousness’ way to process them. There was nothing magical about it, not even the slightest bit.

At least that was what you tried to tell yourself. A small part of you was still convinced that there was more to it but you refused to listen to the tiny voice in the back of your head. Your life was already crazy enough; you didn’t want to bother yourself with the past as well.

But as soon as you lied down again and closed your eyes, the pictures came back. You still saw the gorgeous ballroom, heard the rousing waltz that the orchestra had played, remembered the argument between Bede and the unknown woman. For a moment, you wondered if she had been the one who cursed him. And – which seemed to be the more important question – why you dreamed about it in the first place. It made no sense; you knew nothing about the things that happened back then which, again, could only mean that your imagination ran riot after visiting the castle today.

You let out a quiet sigh. Not for the first time, you realized that none of this would be a problem if Gloria hadn’t persuaded you to take a photo with the statue. If you had refused, Bede wouldn’t be here; you wouldn’t dream about weird arguments and collapsing buildings. Instead, the three of you would have continued your road trip as planned. Everything would be fine.

Suddenly feeling the urge to scream out of utter frustration, you pressed your lips together. There was no way you were able to go back to sleep, not when the thoughts in your head were running wild. Not when you couldn’t stop worrying your brain about your dream.

Maybe, you mused, it would be best to find someone to talk about it. But you knew that Hop would just shrug it off because he didn’t understand why you were so upset, and while Gloria definitely help you to interpret every single detail of your dream, you weren’t sure if that was really what you wanted. Probably not.

No, you wanted answers. You wanted to know who the mysterious woman was, why she threatened the prince and, probably the most important question, why you dreamed about her and Bede in the first place. It just made no sense, at least not with everything you knew at this point. You couldn’t answer any of your questions. But you knew someone who could.

*

“I need to talk to you,” you said and grabbed Bede’s arm before he could enter the breakfast room. He gave you an irritated look, clearly surprised that you touched him without his permission and actually spoke to him. You couldn’t blame him – usually, you avoided addressing him directly but today, you had no other choice. “Please,” you added, your voice filled with impatience. “It’s urgent.”

Bede raised an eyebrow, staring at you as if he couldn’t believe that you even knew how to say Please, but much to your surprise, he nodded. “Fine.”

You dragged him outside, careful that no one could see you. Although you had no idea why someone would eavesdrop on you and the long-lost prince of Galar, you preferred to better be safe than sorry.

“So,” Bede said and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What’s so urgent that I cannot have breakfast first?”

You remained silent for a moment. Then, you let out a deep sigh. “I… I had a dream last night,” you replied slowly. “In the end it was more of a nightmare, to be honest.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

“I saw you. You were arguing with a woman, in an old church,” you explained, although it felt incredibly weird to tell him about your dream. A part of you still expected him to laugh at you and return to the breakfast room after telling you that you were completely crazy but the other part wanted to know if he knew anything about the mysterious woman. “She… she was saying something about a punishment. I didn’t understand everything but she definitely threatened you.”

Bede raised his eyebrows. “Is that so?” He was trying to play it cool but you had noticed how he flinched when you mentioned the old church and the argument between him and the woman. Now, you were sure that he definitely knew something and that it had been more than just a dream.

“Yes,” you insisted. “And I want to know who that woman is and what she was talking about. So, if you know anything about that it would be great if you could just answer my questions without acting like I’m just some stupid idiot who had a nightmare.”

He huffed but you noticed how he avoided your gaze. Instead, he was focusing on something behind you. “Even if I knew something,” he finally said, his voice shaking almost unnoticeable, “I surely wouldn’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t trust you! I don’t trust any of you,” Bede snarled at you. Suddenly, there was nothing left of his steely composure. Instead, he flashed his eyes at you as if you were his worst enemy. “And what is the point anyway? All of this is long gone, and if you ask me, this is none of your business after all.”

“Fine!” you yelled, mimicking his tone. “Don’t tell me! I’ll figure it out on my own, I don’t need you or your help anyway to find out what’s going on!”

“Good luck with that, then,” Bede replied and rolled his eyes. It made you furious that he acted like your dream didn’t mean anything, and you clenched your fists to keep you from slapping him across the face. “Oh, shut up, will you? You don’t need to act like you know everything when you’re nothing more than a scared Princeling who’s too frightened to face his own miserable past!”

There was a long silence then. Bede just stood there as if he was rooted to the spot, his purple eyes filled with utter disbelief and consternation. Gone was the angry look on his face, the tense posture. All that remained was a young, insecure man. And suddenly, you regretted your harsh words.

“Bede, I-“ you started but he cut you off with a wave of his hand before he turned around and stormed off.

You stared after him, still a bit appalled by your fierce reaction. There was no rational explanation for the loathing you felt every time he spoke to you, and you didn’t understand how someone you didn’t even know could drive you up the wall like this. But you were absolutely sure that there had to be a reason for these feelings and for his silence too. And now, especially after his strange behavior, you were hell-bent on finding out what was going on.

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